Your kids won't have heard of it. You won't need a park-hopper pass or $100 a day for snacks and souvenirs.

FORT MYERS, FLA.–Your kids won't have heard of it. You won't need a park-hopper pass or $100 a day for snacks and souvenirs.

In fact, no one you'll meet there will try to sell you even one pair of plastic ears.

The parking is cheap or free, there are no lineups and, most of the time, the only sound you'll hear will be your own paddle dipping into the water.

The tranquil Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail may not be the best-known attraction in the state, but it could be the perfect culmination to the annual family journey south.

With nary a rollercoaster or a stuffed mascot in sight, it's the ultimate antidote to themeparkitis.

"It's a part of the state that most tourists haven't discovered yet," says Lee Rose of the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau, "but the true nature lovers know we're here."

Ranked among the Top 10 kayaking locations in North America by both Paddler and Canoe & Kayak magazines, the Great Calusa Blueway is not only one of Florida's best areas for birding, but is also one of the few parts of the well-populated state that feels almost uninhabited – at least by humans.

Fish, oysters, crabs and shrimp thrive in the calm waters, as do Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and the endangered West Indian Manatee.

Just a few hours' drive from the whirlwind of Orlando, this sheltered waterway is alive with elegant, long-legged herons and chalk-white ibis.

In the mangroves along the shoreline, pelicans jostle for position with roseate spoonbills, bald eagles and osprey.

This is bird-watching for the bird-brained – no skill or equipment required.

"You don't need to bring your own canoe or kayak," Rose says.

"Everything is available for rent and there are plenty of guides to show you around."

While a pair of binoculars and a camera will enhance the experience, the birds aren't afraid of human visitors and will come surprisingly close. Just paddle over to the shore and wait.

Look carefully into the treetops and you might see a raccoon enjoying a freshly caught fish supper. Stare at the shore and a gopher-tortoise could stick its head out of his sandy burrow.

Charted first by the Calusa Indians more than 2,000 years ago, the Great Calusa Blueway is now a cherished project of Lee County Parks and Recreation, and is funded and protected by tourist dollars.

"The Blueway is an unusual and very beautiful natural area that we're working hard to preserve and enhance," says Rose. "More people should see it."

Encompassing two distinct areas on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico – the Estero Bay region and Pine Island Sound and Matlacha Pass – the Blueways twin regions offer a view of Florida's natural assets that's hard to beat.

This kayaking and canoeing area is easy to navigate. Even an inexperienced paddler can manage the calm, mostly shallow waters – no rocks, portages or whitewater.

In Hell Peckney Bay, for example, one of the most ecologically important parts of the trail, the average water depth is less than a metre, making it ideal area for both red and green mangroves and all the creatures that thrive in them.

This is the best part of the tour for turtle spotting, so be sure the kids keep their binoculars trained on the shallow waters.

All along the Blueway, interesting historical sites offer a good reason to get out of your kayak and stretch your legs.

If you're in the mood for a "divine illumination," for example, plan a stop in Estero, where a utopian community led by visionary Cyrus Teed thrived in the 1800s.

Teed believed that his "illumination" from God compelled him to found a religious settlement, the remains of which are still standing.

The Blueway has a great selection of parks and beaches with spots for picnicking and swimming. Some even offer facilities for overnight camping.

If you're concerned that your children will find kayaking slowly down the Blueway a letdown after the fabulous frenzy of theme parks, don't worry.

Watching a mother turtle dig her nest in the sand or gliding gently over the back of a massive grey manatee might just show your kids that there's more than one magic kingdom in Florida.

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